Tuesday 11 February 2014

When people pull together

Hey there!

It's great to catch up again for a chat! Hope you are well! :)

What I want to talk about today is: What a positive experience it is when people pull together in unnatural situations.

I often turn the news on when I get home from work, mostly to tune in to the sports and the weather.Turning the news on as you know can be a very negative experience at the best of times.

The running sheet is usually a  story of a murder, followed by an assault story, followed by one on animal cruelty and so it goes. I constantly find myself saying out loud in despair, "When is the good news going to start?"

Very occasionally you come across stories where total strangers band together to help each other out.These are the stories I like.

I had  first hand experience of this once in strange circumstances where the unchoreographed  machinations of this wonderful human trait was put on display. It was fascinating to be part of it.

I was traveling home from work on the train one day, doing the usual trip, following the same routine as always when the train suddenly stopped about half way between two stations.We were stopped in what you would term 'no mans land' with rail side vegetation and short very steep cliff faces on either side that led up to fencing that had walking tracks on the other side of it.

We passengers waited and waited for the train to start up again and continue on it's journey.The longer we waited the stuffier it was getting on the train.People were starting to get anxious and after 20 minutes or so there was an announcement by the driver that there was a problem with a train ahead of us and it didn't look like we would be moving any time soon.

Upon receipt of that information one of the more intrepid souls on the train decided he was going to force the doors open and get off the train.Many soon followed including myself.

It was a reasonable jump down from the train to the tracks and you could easily injure an ankle if you weren't careful. It was also very steep climb up rough vegetation to make it to the fence line and finally the walking path.

As more and more people followed out of the train some amazing scenes of teamwork and cooperation amongst complete strangers started to unfold.

Without any delay and not much dialogue, people start to take charge of the train evacuation and self delegate roles they would occupy to help others and make sure the road to freedom was successful and safe for those involved. Nobody was going to be left behind unassisted!

There was a tradesman helping people from our carriage off the train safely, an orderly line of climbers heading up the cliff, one or two passengers at a steep part by a bush about halfway up the cliff face helping others. There was also an amazing guy, who looked like a corporate executive,carrying a briefcase and a wearing a three piece suit, coordinating things at the steepest and most challenging part of the climb.

It was an amazing scene if you can imagine it! There were women dressed in corporate wear in stiletto heels  carrying handbags climbing a steep cliff face. Men in suits with briefcases, tradesman, school kids.The evacuees were people from all walks of life,  all shapes and sizes and levels of strength and fitness.

When it was my turn to climb up the cliff I paused for a split second about halfway up and my mind flashed to those evacuation scenes from the ''Poseidon Adventure''  movie! It made me laugh as we all must have looked bizarre. Not your typical trip home . But it also made me proud!

This was one of the best coordinated and most polished evacuations performed with the least amount of fuss I had ever witnessed.Perfectly executed with everybody's safety and well being paramount.No need for committee's or talkfests, it just happened, amongst complete strangers.

The human spirit was alive and well!

People are amazing when they put there mind's to something and wanting to help others out is an instinct natural to most.How often do you see amazing feats of charity from people helping out unfortunate victims of bushfire, floods, earthquakes etc.

Sure, people can be selfish, aggressive, greedy, unfriendly and the like at times.However, I feel these are the times they have just lost their way a little and a situations where a little community spirit is required can get them back on the right track again swiftly.

People deep down want to help each other as they should,  because in my view we are all connected in some way shape or form..If you treat others the way you would like to be treated,  you can't go too far wrong.

Anyway, that's my story. I'm sure you have many similar stories of your own.

It was great to catch up again! Hope you have an exciting week ahead!

Expect the unexpected on public transport and above all be good to yourself and others!

Talk soon!

The Inspirator

P.S Take a look at my facebook page @ www.facebook.com/theinspirator00


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